MIAMI — Three brothers from Miami Beach who rocketed to fame through the sale of luxury real estate from Miami to Manhattan were taken into custody by Miami FBI agents and local police Wednesday morning and charged with a slew of state and federal sex trafficking and rape crimes.

The charges follow at least four civil lawsuits filed in early summer in New York state court that are filled with disturbing allegations of drugging and raping women.

Twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 37, and their older brother Tal, 38, were awakened at their Miami Beach homes by police and investigators from the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office and the FBI, read their rights and hauled away in handcuffs. Tal Alexander later appeared in Miami federal court before Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid. He was dressed in blue jeans and long-sleeved shirt and cuffed by his ankles and wrists.

Arguing he’s a danger to the community and a flight risk, prosecutors are seeking to detain him. His detention hearing is scheduled for Friday. Alon and Oren Alexander remained in state custody with their first court appearance scheduled for Thursday.

Ultimately, the three brothers are expected to be transferred to New York City, where the federal indictment was filed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the same court that recently indicted rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

A cousin of the Alexander brothers named Ohad Fisherman is also facing rape charges and remained at-large Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said the charges against the brothers stem from three cases in Miami Beach and date back to 2016. Without going into detail, the state attorney said she was confident aggravating factors involved in the crimes are enough to extend any statute of limitations that might have played out in the alleged rapes. She called the women who came forward “courageous.”

“Sometimes they grapple with their own shame,” Fernandez Rundle said.

Officially, Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander have been charged federally with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and related counts of sex trafficking two victims by force, fraud or coercion between 2010 and 2021 in Manhattan, Miami and elsewhere.

In state court, Oren Alexander is facing two counts of sexual battery. And his brother Alon and their cousin Fisherman are facing single counts of sexual battery.

Since the early summer filing of the civil suits, an attorney representing two of the women told the Miami Herald an additional 40 women — including a dozen from the Miami area — have come forward with allegations against one or more of the brothers.

Some of the alleged incidents happened decades ago, when the brothers attended Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School near Aventura, Florida. The New York attorney representing some of the women told the Herald in September that more lawsuits should be expected.

The Alexander brothers’ attorney Joel Denaro, who was with Tal Alexander in federal court Wednesday afternoon, declined comment.

Drugged, raped ‘dozens of victims,’ feds say in indictment

The Alexander brothers used their wealth and position in the real estate industry to violently drug and sexually assault women, said Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. The brothers sought women for trafficking through dating apps and social media accounts, sometimes taking them on luxurious international trips.

The brothers also hosted group events where they invited other men to rape women, Williams said.

“This conduct, as alleged, was heinous,” Williams said. “ ... With our law enforcement partners, this office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful, or wealthy, or famous you may be.”

The federal indictment unsealed in Manhattan on Wednesday morning tells a story of serial sexual predators.

The Alexander brothers “worked together and with others ... to repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of victims,” reads the indictment.

“At times, the Alexander brothers arranged for these sexual assaults well in advance, using the promise of luxury, experiences, travel and accommodations to lure and entice women to locations where they were then forcibly raped or sexually assaulted, sometimes by multiple men, including one or more of the Alexander brothers.

“Other times, the Alexander brothers encountered and chose their victims by chance,” the indictment says. “Often, the Alexander brothers drugged their victims before assaulting them, preventing them from fighting back or escaping.”

South Florida incidents

In South Florida, Oren Alexander has been charged with rape in three separate incidents.

The first alleged incident was during a 2016 New Year’s Eve gathering at a Collins Avenue condo in Miami Beach. The victim said, according to the arrest report, Alon Alexander invited her to the condo saying they were having a party. The two knew each other from New York City. When she arrived, Alon introduced her to Oren and Fisherman. Alon led her into a bedroom and Oren and Fisherman followed.

There, the arrest report says, she was pinned by Fisherman while the Alexander twins argued over who would assault her first. She claims she was raped by Oren, before Alon raped her as his brother watched.

Oren Alexander is also accused of rape on Oct. 20, 2017. The victim said she met met Oren Alexander and a friend for dinner, followed by an evening at a real estate event in Hallandale Beach and later drinks at a bar.

She had one drink before leaving with Oren and agreeing to go to his Collins Avenue condo for a drink. At his condo, the woman drank a glass of wine and put on a pair of virtual reality goggles. She alleges Oren undressed her without consent, moved her to his bedroom and sexually assaulted her while she had the glasses on.

A few weeks later, the woman met with Oren Alexander to discuss her concerns, according to the report. When she wouldn’t allow him to kiss her, the woman said Oren Alexander began to masturbate and ejaculated on her stomach. She said Oren Alexander texted her later with a threat to “ruin” her if she mentioned anything about the incident.

Another woman claimed Oren Alexander raped her in 2021. The arrest form says the two met for dinner and then took a boat to his Miami Beach home. He then took her phone, saying no pictures permitted.

Then, she said, a tour of his home led her to a sitting area near the bedroom. He got aggressive. As she tried to get away, the woman said Oren Alexander ripped her dress. When the woman realized the doors were locked remotely, she said Oren Alexander mounted and assaulted her, before ejaculating on her stomach.

The arrests were first reported by the industry real estate magazine The Real Deal.

Precipitous fall for real estate superstars

Even before Wednesday’s arrests, the lawsuits and national media scrutiny had been costly for Oren and Tal Alexander, who stepped away from Official, the boutique New York City-based real estate firm they founded about three years ago. Alon continued to work for Kent Security, a private security firm built by his father Schlomy Alexander, which offers crisis management, guards and video technology.

It’s been a precipitous fall for the trio, two of whom’s success in the high-end real estate markets of Miami, Aspen, Colorado, and Manhattan are legendary. They got a jump-start in the business from their father, who also dabbled in the sale of high-end luxury properties.

In 2012, Schlomy Alexander helped Tal and Oren sell an Indian Creek Village home for $47 million, a record in Miami-Dade at the time. And they made international headlines in 2019 with the sale of a $240 million condo in midtown Manhattan to billionaire Citadel Chief Executive Officer Ken Griffin, who is now headquartered in Miami. In 2021 alone, they claimed sales of $1.8 billion.

The brothers frequented the hottest clubs and often jet-setted between Miami, Aspen and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. They were often highlighted on celebrity Page Six of the New York Post. Gotham Magazine named the twins some of the most eligible and hottest bachelors in New York City in 2014. And a Herald article in 2019 told of how the brothers’ Instagram accounts were overflowing with pictures of them cavorting in the Bahamas, Cambodia and Hawaii and visiting Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires.

Remarkably, Art Basel may have played a part in Wednesday’s arrests. Investigators looking to take the brothers into custody were fairly certain the brothers would be in town for the art show that ended last weekend, according to a law enforcement source.

“We’re one step closer to obtaining justice and closure for the victims,” said Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones.

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